Results will appear on the Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV Results page on a daily basis, by 13:00 GMT approx.

27 April
Bangladesh caused the biggest surprise of the opening day when it defeated third seeds Syria 2-1 despite trailing after the opening singles rubber. In the other match in Pool A, top seed Oman comfortably accounted for Turkmenistan.

In Pool B, matches went to form with Oman and Singapore being victorious, although Oman were made to fight by hosts Myanmar.

28 April
Oman and Singapore, the seeded teams in Pool B, made it two victories out of two to establish a commanding lead at the head of the pool. Oman quickly overwhelmed Jordan while Singapore got the better of a tight encounter with Myanmar.

After its surprise defeat on the opening day, Syria powered past Turkmenistan in Pool A. UAE collected its second win with victory over Kyrgyzstan.

29 April
Bangladesh continued its run of surprise results with a 2-1 victory over top seeds UAE, who were unfortunate to drop the opening rubber through injury to their player, Mahmoud Nader Al-Baloushi towards the end of the second set. Bangladesh now sits at the top of Pool A with a 100 per cent record. Kyrgyzstan defeated Turkmenistan 3-0, leaving its near-neighbour, who participated in Davis Cup for the first time last year, still seeking its maiden victory.

In Pool B, second seed Oman accounted for Iraq 3-0 to keep up its unbeaten record while host Myanmar finally gave the crowd something to cheer about with a 3-0 victory over Jordan.

30 April
Bangladesh will return to Group III after three years in Group IV after completing its third successive victory of the week in defeating Turkmenistan 3-0. Despite Syria's battling 3-0 win over Kyryzstan, Bangladesh is already assured of winning Pool A regardless of the outcome of the former's ties with UAE.

Pool B will go down to the final day as Singapore joined Oman, who enjoyed a rest day, at the top of the pool, battling back from the loss of the first rubber to defeat Jordan 2-1. The two unbeaten nations will meet tomorrow with the winner being promoted alongside Bangladesh.

1 May
Bangladesh and Singapore have been promoted to the 2006 Asia/Oceania Zone Group III after winning their play-off ties. Bangladesh, who had already secured their promotion after defeating Turkmenistan on Saturday, completed the week underfeated with a 3-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan. Singapore had to fight for their promotion eventually overcoming Oman 2-1.

Davis Cup returns to Myanmar after 50 years
One of the biggest bugbears at a tennis tournament, whether it is a Davis Cup by BNP Paribas tie or any other event, is the ringing of mobile phones. Chair umpires are constantly asking for mobile phones to be switched off.

However, when the first Davis Cup by BNP Paribas competition for 50 years is played in Yangon, Myanmar (formerly known as Rangoon, Burma) this week, the constant ring tones should not really be an issue. You see in Myanmar the mobile phone is a rarity. It costs anywhere between $US 3,000 and $US 5,000 to have one.

During the one week I spent in the country known as “The Golden Land”, I heard a mobile phone ring four times – and three of those came from the one my guide had.

The last time a Davis Cup tie was held in the country, Burma as it then was played the Philippines one-on-one in an Eastern Zone tie and the Philippines won 5-0. Never before has the country hosted ten nations with four members in each team as it will this week. The countries represented are: Bangladesh, Iraq, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Oman, Singapore, Syria, Turkmenistan and United Arab Emirates.

“We are looking forward to hosting the zonal competition,” said Mr U Zaw Zaw, President of the Myanmar Tennis Federation.

“At the meeting of the Asia Tennis Federation last year we were given approval to host the event. We are not nervous but we are excited about it.

“We have hosted some smaller ITF events before and Suresh Menon from the ITF has been here a few times and will be the representative for the event.”

The facility that will play host for the week has eleven hardcourts of which ten are outdoors. The indoor court will have gym equipment installed for the players to use for training purposes.

The centre court seats about 1,000 people, and the federation has stated admission is free to the public.

Tennis is at the moment the fourth or fifth most popular sport in Myanmar, just behind football, volleyball, and local variations of volleyball in which a ball made of cane is used. However, during the recent summer school holidays up to 300 children were hitting tennis balls on the same courts that will be used for Davis Cup. In fact the federation even organized a junior event called the Mayor’s Cup before the Davis Cup to help stimulate interest with youngsters.

Myanmar is a poor country. Still not much is known by the international community about the place but slowly, very slowly, things are opening. There is a long, long way to go and the ITF is working with the local authorities to help the sport along.

Tournaments like the zonal competition are a positive step, not just for tennis but for the society in general.